About Orange County Optometric Center
We are a licensed provider of quality vision care products and personalized optometric services in Irvine.
WHY US
Our office has continued to provide excellent and up to date care since 1988. Over the years we have added several components to our exams to insure our patients have the highest quality of care. What makes us unique is our ability to combine new technological resources with the latest standards of care.
Our commitment is to you, your family, and friends.
OUR SERVICES
Comprehensive Eye Examinations
Our comprehensive eye examinations evaluate your eyes, both inside and out, for any potential disorders or diseases. Your visual skills and abilities are carefully evaluated and appropriate treatment is prescribed – whether it’s medication, lenses or low vision rehabilitation. All of our doctors have extensive residency training and are prepared to handle whatever your eyecare needs may be.
Technology is rapidly changing the eye care industry. We utilize the latest in diagnostic equipment and are committed to keeping up with whatever advances will come next.
Preventative Vision Care
Vision in the broadest sense, is the global ability of the brain to extract, process and act on information presented to the eye. This complex process can be thought of as three major but related areas: visual acuity, which is largely dependent upon refractive status and eye health; visual efficiency skills, representing eye focusing, teaming, and tracking skills; and visual information processing, representing the ability to recognize and discriminate visual stimuli and to interpret them correctly based upon previous experience. Regardless of age, we target all three areas of vision during our examinations as a cornerstone to preventative eye care.
Contact Lenses
We have been fitting specialty contact lenses for years and have seen some incredible changes in that time. By far the most exciting changes have occurred in the last few years. Although rigid contact lenses are a shrinking segment of the industry, we still have a large number of patients who wear them.
The gas-permeable lens materials available today far surpass those available just a few years ago in terms of eye health and comfort.
Allergies can be particularly annoying to contact lens wearers. In the past many people had to quit wearing their lenses for a month or two during the allergy season. New lens materials and allergy medications have made it possible for these people to eliminate itchy eyes. These medications such as Patanol and Alocril are amazingly effective and safe even in children as young as three.
Orthokeratology
Orthokeratology (OrthoK) or Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) is the first FDA approved myopia reducing therapy that uses specially designed therapeutic contact lenses to reduce or eliminate myopia (nearsightedness) and corneal astigmatism.
Patients undergoing OrthoK wear the newest technologically advanced gas permeable lenses to sleep. This non-surgical process reshapes the cornea (front part of your eye) while you sleep. You simply remove the lenses when you wake up. You are then able to see at far without the need of any other vision correction devices (i.e. glasses or contact lenses).
The concept of OrthoK is very similar to orthodontics. Analogy: Orthodontists use braces to reshape your teeth, once your teeth are straight, you continue using a retainer to maintain the shape of your teeth. Optometrists use specially designed gas permeable contact lenses to reshape your eyes. Once your eyes have been reshaped and the desired affect is achieved, you continue using a retainer pair of contact lenses to sleep every night. Just as it is important to continue to use a retainer for your teeth, it is important to use the contact lens retainer at night to maintain good vision during the day. Remember, there are No age restrictions for this therapy. We have patients as young as 8 years of age successfully wearing theses lenses.
If you are interested in finding out more information about OrthoK, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office. We would be more than happy to send you informational handouts or answer any questions you may have.
Optical/Glasses Dispensing
Our optical laboratory has the latest in equipment to not only fabricate your glasses, but to maintain and repair them should they become broken or damaged. We are able to tint, coat, harden and edge spectacle lenses. We are able to provide you with any frame or lens design available. Our highly qualified optician and staff are able to adjust and fit your glasses to you for extended comfort and vision.
Eye Infections, Eye Injuries, Dry Eyes
Our office provides emergency services for eye infections and eye injuries. Please call our office at (949) 552-2020 during office hours or (949) 422-6070 after hours. (Fax) 949-552-6777. Our staff will work with you to schedule an appointment as soon as possible or to refer you as needed. State of the art microscopes allow us to examine the front surface of the eye and facial areas around the eye for infection or injury. After assessing the extent of the injury or infection, a treatment plan will be formulated and explained to you. Treatment may include medications and supportive care. Follow-up visits to monitor your recovery will be scheduled as needed.
- Dry Eyes: Symptoms include scratchy eyes, burning, mild redness and gritty feeling eyes. Oral medications, reading, computer tasks and dry environments may aggravate marginally dry eyes. Dry eyes can be diagnosed by using dyes to observe tear patterns, evaluation of the amount of tears on the front of the eye and from review of your symptoms. Treatment may include artificial tears, eye drops for treating allergies, and/or punctal plugs inserted in the tear drainage canals.
Eye Diseases; Cataracts, Glaucoma, Diabetes
- Cataracts: The natural lens in the eye gradually becomes less clear as we get older. When opacities develop in the lens and the lens gets too hazy, vision will be impaired. Our office can diagnose and manage cataract care. When the cataract affects the vision to the extent that you cannot read or see distant objects comfortably, we will recommend cataract surgery. Our office co-manages with cataract specialists that are proven experts in cataract surgery. Cataract surgery can provide you with a bright new world of vision.
- Glaucoma: Glaucoma gradually destroys the optic nerve tissue in the back of the eye. The greatest danger of glaucoma stems from the fact that the disease is painless and without obvious symptoms until significant damage has occurred. The most common cause is from pressure being too high inside the eye, but vascular disease and other diseases can also cause glaucoma. We always monitor for glaucoma during routine eye examinations. Tests include checking the pressure of the eye, screening for peripheral vision defects and analyzing the appearance of the optic nerve. If you are diagnosed with glaucoma, we typically prescribe medications that lower the eye pressure. Most forms of glaucoma are successfully treated with eye drops. Laser treatments and eye surgery are secondary treatments that offer alternative ways to treat more advanced glaucoma.
- Diabetes: Diabetic patients should have a dilated retinal examination each year. Laser treatments have proven to slow the progression of retinal eye disease for many patients. Diabetes often stimulates the growth of new blood vessels in the back of the eye, which ultimately leak and damage the retina. If this condition is discovered early, laser treatment can destroy these vessels. We have the latest instruments used to detect changes in the back of the eye. If we discover advancing diabetic eye disease that can be treated or needs further evaluation, we will refer you for consultation and further testing to a board certified retinal specialist.
Low Vision Services
People who have lost eyesight due to injuries or eye disease need special types of products to help them function as independently as possible. We offer a full range of these products through our office. Our paraoptometric staff is trained to demonstrate the use of some of these devices. They range all the way from a simple hand magnifier to a closed circuit TV system.
In addition, we can direct those who have low vision problems to products that will help them carry on the day-to-day tasks that they need to perform. In some cases we can set up a program for the low vision patient with the National Library of Congress to receive “books on tapes”, which is a service for the blind.
Schedule an appointment with an experienced eye care provider at our Irvine optometrist office and give your vision the level of care and attention it deserves.